Brain scan fails legal test in Tennessee
But judge does not rule it out as a possibility
American lawyers are itching to get fMRI
brain scans admitted in court as evidence of their client’s mental state. All
previous attempts have failed, although sometimes they may have had an effect
upon sentencing in a few cases.
The latest high-profile case concluded this
week in Tennessee where Lorne Semrau, the CEO of two nursing homes accused of
rorting Medicare, is pleading that he had acted in good faith. He submitted
brain scans taken by lie detection company, Cephos, to demonstrate his
sincerity.
Federal Court Judge Tu Pham dismissed them
as evidence but, significantly, added that “in the future, should fMRI-based
lie detection undergo further testing, development, and peer review, improve
upon standards controlling the technique’s operation, and gain acceptance by
the scientific community for use in the real world, this methodology may be
found to be admissible”. ~ Wired, June 1
Michael Cook
brain scans
fMRI
lie detection
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
China accused of sequencing Tibetan and Uyghur DNA to supply organ transplant market
A committee of the US Congress has heard shocking testimony about alleged forced organ harvesting from Uyghurs and Falun Gong...
European Parliament describes surrogacy as a form of human trafficking
The European Parliament has described “the exploitation of surrogacy” as a form of human trafficking in a legislative resolution on...
‘Forced surrogacy’ reported in the UK
A British charity working with victims of modern slavery has reported that it had received three reports of “forced surrogacy” for the...
We should react to atrocities in Gaza, says bioethicists
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is creating tensions within the bioethics community. In an article in the...
Quadriplegic Quebec man chooses assisted dying rather than live with bedsores
A quadriplegic Quebec man has chosen assisted dying because of a bedsore he acquired when a hospital failed to give...
Transgender medicine critic Hilary Cass given police protection
The author of the recent review of Britain’s gender identity services for children and young people has told The Times (of London)...